ALL TOO HUMAN: A Political Education.

• Author: FISCHER, RAYMOND L.
• Position: Review

ALL TOO HUMAN: A Political Education BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS LITTLE, BROWN & CO. 1999, 443 PAGES, $27.95

This behind-the-scenes story from a man who was a Clinton political troubleshooter, public relations advisor, policy expert, and crisis manager--especially a crisis manager--delves into the political education of both the author and the President. Stephanopoulos explains how an ambitious and idealistic politician of uncertain personal character grew in office, outsmarted his enemies, outhustled his adversaries, and overcame his failings to become a two-term president--with a lot of help from Stephanopoulos. The book is primarily a personal narrative of how the author reacted to the pressures and pleasures of "the greatest adventure in his life."

Stephanopoulos found his work with Clinton to be a "rollercoaster ride" that led to burnout. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton contributed to the stress, blaming Stephanopoulos when things went wrong and giving him little praise when things went right. Furthermore, he did not always see eye to eye with Vice Pres. Al Gore. Stephanopoulos defines the two most stressful events in his work with the Clintons as the publication of Bob Woodward's The Agenda and his clashes with presidential advisor Dick Morris.

The Clintons considered Woodward's book an indictment of Bill Clinton's presidency and Stephanopoulos a traitor for having given the author information. Woodward quoted Stephanopoulos several times, and many of the statements Woodward included also appear in All Too Human. On "60 Minutes," Woodward described the Clinton Administration as "chaos, absolute chaos," and the book was marketed as "the most persuasive proof yet that Clinton was an undisciplined and indecisive president leading an inexperienced, out-of-control White House."

It was not Morris, but his ideas that Stephanopoulos objected to. Morris was bringing chaos to the White House, wreaking havoc with Clinton's domestic policy, and suggesting potentially dangerous national security measures. However, Clinton wanted Morris to be...